We were in the Guangzhou China airport November 17th around 11pm and saw a team of two caucasian men wearing backpacks running through the airport with a cameraman and producer in tow. They were in the baggage claim area and were in a hurry to find something and stopped at hte information desk to ask directions. The cameraman was working to capture every move. The men were both short and appeared to be related. One had a fanny pack that was visible with red/yellow/back horizontal stripes on it. We went up to them and said "Are you with the Amazing Race?". They said "No", but we are waiting for cast pictures to see if they were telling the truth or not.

And one of Phil's possible escape routes on the 16th:CZ364 / CZ3234 (1820-0035) through Guangzhou

1. The Pit Stop in Guilin was set up at 6pm and check-ins ended at about 3am.2. There may be a short extension (Phuket or Bangkok) for teams to miss the 7am, giving Phil a day's headstart.3. Any longer extension is unlikely, as it drags the Guilin leg deep into the night.4. CZ364 / CZ3234 is the last combination to arrive in Guilin before 3am.5. Are Mark/Michael toast? Are they behind this upcoming Bangkok leg? Is Guilin over, before it begins?

We were flying on an Air China/ANA code share from Beijing to Tokyo on the 21st of November, flight later ID’d as CA925/NH5702 0930-1350. At the terminal we discovered we had ended up on the same flight as the cheerleaders (Cara/Jaime) and the Mom/son (Margie/Luke).

Those two teams split in a different direction once we left the plane in Tokyo as we went for our (personal info removed) flight and they went to Hawaii (overheard them saying) and they went onward.

We then came across Phil at the JAL transfer desk in Tokyo. He was actually traveling with Tammy/Victor and BVM. insert: They were ahead of us in line.

Once past the transfer desk we had to go downstairs to the Bus station to transfer to another Terminal where we again came across Phil and Tammy/Victor. We rode the bus with them to the other terminal and then lost them in the chaos that is Narita airport.

1. The CA925 that Cara/Jaime and Margie/Luke were on lands at Terminal 1S. The earliest flight to Honolulu that day is JO76 (1845-0635), departing from Terminal 2. If the two teams were headed for the earliest flight, why didn't they follow to the JAL transfer desk and do what Phil was doing? Are they lost, or on a later flight to Honolulu?

2. The only earlier flight arriving from Beijing into Terminal 1 is NH956 (0845-1305). That must have been Phil's flight. There is an earlier flight, JL780 (0825-1245), landing at Terminal 2. If Phil wanted to avoid Tammy/Victor on the Beijing-Tokyo leg for non-interference issues, he could have. This in addition to him switching airlines at Tokyo, when he could have got a smoother transfer and possibly a cheaper ticket using JAL - codes JL and JO - the entire way. Is there any significance to this?

« Last Edit: April 15, 2009, 09:52:46 AM by Neobie »

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5. Are Mark/Michael toast? Are they behind this upcoming Bangkok leg? Is Guilin over, before it begins?

The preview (and web clues) imply Mark/Michael lose their belongings (and/or a lot of time to recover said belongings). Given that Phuket wasn't an NEL , that would make Bangkok almost certainly an NEL (unless they're going to have consecutive NELs or even a F3 NEL). I'm not a betting man, but I'd say barring a miracle, the brothers are toast.

5. Are Mark/Michael toast? Are they behind this upcoming Bangkok leg? Is Guilin over, before it begins?

The preview (and web clues) imply Mark/Michael lose their belongings (and/or a lot of time to recover said belongings). Given that Phuket wasn't an NEL , that would make Bangkok almost certainly an NEL (unless they're going to have consecutive NELs or even a F3 NEL). I'm not a betting man, but I'd say barring a miracle, the brothers are toast.

It would be quite entertaining to have a speedbump and a u-turn in the final leg. but TPTB would be too sadistic to do that!

2. The only earlier flight arriving from Beijing into Terminal 1 is NH956 (0845-1305). That must have been Phil's flight. There is an earlier flight, JL780 (0825-1245), landing at Terminal 2. If Phil wanted to avoid Tammy/Victor on the Beijing-Tokyo leg for non-interference issues, he could have. This in addition to him switching airlines at Tokyo, when he could have got a smoother transfer and possibly a cheaper ticket using JAL - codes JL and JO - the entire way. Is there any significance to this?

Does this mean T/V's toast? Oh no...

But could it be that T/V incidentally sees the production, thus deciding to get ahead by purchasing tickets in JAL aside from a "later flight to Honolulu"? Or don't production have pre-purchased tickets already? It's the most logical thing to have, a last minute change in airlines could be to costy for production, provided Phil and BVM flies business class...

If T/V would be included in the F3, the only way they're together is that they found Phil/BVM hanging around JAL and thus got an idea to join in to surge ahead?

Neobie, are there other flights later to leave for Honolulu after the 1845 flight without any significant time intervals?

Would Cara/Jaime and Margie/Luke actually fail to get on the first two flights? And if so, how would they?If Tammy/Victor are still in the running, they would have outright beat them to begin the final leg...

The teams were dumped, for unknown reasons, at the end of Bangla road, right next to the new Rock City bar. A few frames later, they're all on the beach road asking locals.Did the drivers all think they wanted the Rock City gorilla? Did they assume foreign tourists all want to go to Patong? I don't know. Also:

Quote from: Mel

Is this Patong beach?

When Mel says that, we get a glimpse of the Patong mosque (compare to here). You would catch that if your cab was coming west from Phuket city. At first I thought they were getting the runaround, but after checking direction pages from Patong hotels the route seems quicker than hugging the western shore.

Would Cara/Jaime and Margie/Luke actually fail to get on the first two flights? And if so, how would they?If Tammy/Victor are still in the running, they would have outright beat them to begin the final leg...

I want to bring some additional information to bear on the debate on what was going on in Narita Airport on Nov. 22. First, let's look at it from the perspective of the departures to Honolulu. There are nine of them (see below) between 1845 and 2200. So teams must arrive no later than 9pm to get the last of those, JO22 departing at 2200. Teams can arrive whenever, so logically they would want the ealiest nonstop flight out of Beijing after they have been released from the pitstop. The possilbilities (I did not list any of these but the China Air ones previously but I believe Neobie did list them all previously) without doublecounting the codeshares are:

We know from an eyewitness report that one or more lead teams were on CA925 due to spotting at an Air China gate in Narita around 2pm. That flight would allow teams their pick of available seats starting at 1845 JO76 departure. Anything arriving after that would not have connect time in Narita and would not be bookable, although it is possible that teams could actually make JO76 from CA167 if they are lucky.

Need sunrise/sunset and flight expertise! This is looking absurd - I'm not half sure if I'm doing this correctly!

Sunset in Guilin on 17 Nov 2008 was at 5.50pm, and at least three teams checked in before that.

The last combination from Bangkok arriving before 5.50pm is FD3600 / NX192 (0700-1410) through Macau.Mark and Michael are presumably on CZ364 / CZ3234 (1820-2355).

They're 10 hours behind?

Neobie, that quite right. Here is the way it comes down:

Teams arrive Bangkok airport and reach the pit stop in Bangkok maybe 12pm(Margie/Luke) to 130pm (Mark/Michael) to Kisha/Jen 50 minutes later at maybe 220pm. Mark/Michael get a 4 hour penalty that expires after the pit stop time at 530am assuming the 12 hour pit stop which is necessary to make activities photographed in daylight so. So allowing about 1 hour to get there, teams will get to Bangkok airport maybe like this:

That last time is critical because all the other teams should have no difficulty getting on the first flight combination, FD3600 / NX192 (0700-1410) through Macau, if available. Mark/Michael will miss it. Now the question is why can't they get on one of these:

This shot mysteriously appeared in "Bangkok" last week, but... hey that's not Thai!

Sign from Guilin Airport (Beijing signs are different)

Macau and Hong Kong flights arrive in International. If the brothers didn't arrive from Guangzhou, where was this shot from?

A cross-airport transfer at Shanghai (at rush hour at that) is risky and very unlikely, since the two airports are on the far ends of town. If there are no flights we haven't found, we have a lead pack going through Chongqing (giving us the domestic arrival), and the Tweedles going through Macau.

A day behind and TPTB let them finish up the challenges? I dunno? I mean they let Brad and Victoria finish up but they were not a day behind. Didn't the China blog state that production left that night ..........or something? I have to go re-read. Or did we/I just stumble upon the Guangzhou sighting and get lucky that that the Brothers made final 5! LOL

My boyfriend worked as an assistant, and didn't know that it was TAR until I told him afterwards - I watch it all the time.

They stayed at the Sheraton, and the host was waiting for the contestants at the Sun Moon Towers. They also went to the Diecai (Folded Brocade) Mountains and a steel factory.

They flew off that night, but the crew had to wait for everyone to get on the plane before they could leave their posts, probably for privacy.

I think they went to a salon to wash hair - but maybe it was just to get a clue. My boyfriend says that the host was tall and handsome.

That's all I know, you'd all find out for sure when the episode airs! 'Cause we all love TAR!

They flew off that night? Probably just Phil then? If they're flying to Beijing we should be expecting a 36-hour Pit Stop.

So for tasks we have the hair salon, comorants (riverside where Jen and Luke are fighting - and YAY!), something to do with the notebook and something to get LaKisha's hands dirty. We also have our Pit Stop, the Old South Gate, a steel factory and the very bizzare Folded Brocade Mountains.

On whether the brothers have already been eliminated and are on their way to Beijing: There's a direct to Beijing from Guilin departing ten minutes before the last flight to Guangzhou. Saving money becomes the priority after elimination, so I'm thinking they would have taken a direct. No reason to be in baggage claim either if they're not going from Intl to Domestic.

We've had reports from the Girlfriend ^ and from the Props Girl; confirmation from the park staff and from the travel agency organizing the leg; and plenty of eyewitnesses to boot. In fact, we got the date of 17 Nov from there, way back in... November. We know the Mountains are on our race. But where do they come into place?

Remember, production sealed off the place after 6pm, and there are reports of activity at 3am. With everyone checking in in the daytime, could this be the start of our next leg? It'd rob production of a 36h rest though, and could push our "they flew off that night" onto the 18th - but that's a bit of a stretch...

« Last Edit: April 18, 2009, 11:52:27 PM by Neobie »

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Dr. Rox, I am goign to disagree with you. Previous discussion on another thread indicates that the approximate pit stop check-in for Margie/Luke was around1145am. I modify that to 1135am and that means a 22 hour pit stop, weird but so be it.

On the question of flights, the later departure time drastically impacted what choices teams had, with those choices restriced by being forced by the clue to connect in Guangzhou(why this was specified I don't know):Margie/Luke- CZ362 BKK CAN 1120 1505 connecting to CZ3303 CAN KWL 2035 2130Jaime/Cara and Tammy/Victor - KQ924 BKK CAN 1315 1710 connecting to the same CZ3303Kisha/Jen - TG715 BKK CAN 1525 1915 connecting to Shenzhen 8627 CAN KWL 2110 2210Mark/Michael - CZ364 BKK CAN 1855 2230 missing the last flight to Guilin by a minimum of 80 minutes and being forced the next morning to take CZ3232 0940+1 1040+1. This squares with the screenshot of them landing in daylight in Guilin